Summary of Meeting:Chemokines are members of a superfamily of proteins whose primary function is to control leukocyte trafficking through lymphoid organs and other tissues. Their expression is associated with inflammatory disorders, allergic disease, infectious diseases (including HIV), atherosclerosis, and cancer. Recently, genetically modified animal models have provided in vivo proof of the pathogenetic role played by chemokines in disease, and thereby validated chemokines and their receptors as pharmacological targets. Finally, chemokine receptors have been found on a number of non-hematopoietic cells and may be important for the positioning of these cells (e.g., vascular and brain cells). Critical problems in the field include: difficulty in discovering small molecule chemokine inhibitors, indicating an incomplete understanding of chemokine ligand-receptor interactions; gaps in connecting chemokine receptor activation with the molecular machinery of cell migration; and an unclear vision of the physiology of chemokines in non-hematopoietic cells. This meeting will bring together scientists working on the molecular basis of chemokine responses with those working at the organismal level on problems of disease and the immune response. The goal is to stimulate new approaches to critical problems in chemokine research that may ultimately result in chemokine-directed therapeutics.

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